C6 The Gilded Cage

"Isn't that the Marlowe girl?"

"Fallen from grace, but still beautiful..."

"How sad that she sold herself to Blackwood."

Her face hardened, but her hands trembled beneath the bouquet. The roses felt like thorns digging into her hands.

Clara sat in the crowd with a jewelled hat on and a grin that was too polished to be maternal on her thin lips. She was proud